Classification and distribution of oceanic sediments.

The term "sediment" refers to the tiny particles of rocks and other materials that sink to the ocean floor and eventually settle and accumulate on the bottom. All regions of the seafloor contain some form of sediment, although there are many different types of sediments from a variety of sources, and the amount of accumulated sediment can vary greatly from place to place. These areas include regions near the mouths of rivers where there is high sediment discharge, and passive margins near the continents where the seafloor has had millions of years for sediment to accumulate. On the other hand, sediments are sparse along divergent plate boundaries where new oceanic crust is being formed, as the crust is too new for significant accumulation and in the central oceans that are far away from any significant sediment sources. Rates of sediment accumulation are relatively slow throughout most of the ocean, in many cases taking thousands of years for any significant deposits to form. Sediment transported from the land accumulates the fastest, on the order of one metre or more per thousand years for coarser particles. Sediments from the land are deposited on the continental margins by surface runoff, river discharge, and other processes. Turbidity currents can transport this sediment down the continental slope to the deep ocean floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]